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Live updates: Jefferson and Shelby County High School Football Media Days begins Monday morning in Gardendale (photos)

HooverMediaDays 2013 Vasha.JPG

Hoover head coach Josh Niblett talks with the media at the Birmingham high school football media days day one, Monday, July 29, 2013, at Gardendale Civic Center in Gardendale, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

GARDENDALE, Alabama -- The first sign of the coming fall is upon us. High school football season is right along the horizon.

While there's still one more week until practices begin for high school football teams across Alabama, there are 21 local high school teams set to make their appearances in Gardendale on both Monday and Tuesday.

That's the dates for the Jefferson and Shelby County Football Coaches Associations annual media days in Gardendale. There will be 42 Alabama High School Athletic Association programs at the podium on Monday and Tuesday in Gardendale.

The new season brings about some new questions in a true introductory session for this fall.

Calera head coach Wiley McKeller and his team representatives Calera WR/S/QB Ronnie Clark, left, and WR Jordan Bishop at the Birmingham high school football media days day one, Monday, July 29, 2013, at Gardendale Civic Center in Gardendale, Ala. Clark, an elite national prospect, will decide between Alabama and Auburn next month. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

Why? That's because a full third of the area's 42 AHSAA coaches at those schools have new coaches in place for the 2013 seasons.

The Metro area saw rampant turnover this winter as teams geared up for another football season.

There will be 14 new head football coaches meeting the media for the first time in Gardendale this week. That's quite a lot of new faces in new places for one year's worth of Media Days.

Check back here often for real-time updates from Media Days. There should be more than 100 updates to the timeline of events from the day with each team's appearance.

Minor and coach Randy Cook are set to kick the two-day event off at 9 a.m. The Berry High and UGA grad is always to the point and entertaining about the outlook for his Tenacious Tigers every fall.

2:56 PM: Rogers said the close losses were just "heart breakers" last season.

"We just got to the goal line and we couldn't finish," Rogers said.

2:55 PM: Badewa and Rogers both are expected to play both ways given the lack of seniors on the team.

2:52 PM: What is the potential for this program? Wright believes the Eagles can be a "1A goldmine" and envisions Shades Mountain as a Class 1A Briarwood Christian down the road.

That's his estimation what football can be at Shades Mountain Christian.

2:51 PM: The Eagles have never been to the AHSAA state playoffs. The program is less than 10 years old, but that's a goal Wright mentioned.

2:50 PM: That said, Badewa and Rogers are expected to play both ways this fall. Rogers will see some time at safety. He might be expected to start at that spot in the early going.

2:49 PM: There are 25 players in the program. The Eagles have just five seniors.

2:45 PM: Wright wants the team to be able to run the
football better this fall. He said the
team just couldn't find the right combination to make it work in 2012.

He said
turnovers will be a key. He's studied the film and feels that was a big reason
for the team's lack of success in recent years.

2:44 PM: Wright is still working at the central office in
the Homewood system until next month. It sounds like he's
still in the evaluation period with the team until he can shift his focus fully
to the Shades Mountain after he files his retirement papers with the
Homewood system at the end of August.

2:43 PM: Shades Mountain was in a lot of games last fall. The Eagles lost
their last four games by a combined total of 21 points.

"I feel like if we can get some consistency that will be a
big deal," Wright said.

2:42 PM: Wright said it didn't take him long to relish getting
back to on-the-field coaching after taking the job with the Eagles.

2:41 PM: The Eagles note a "lot of good things" in the short
time under new coach Dickey Wright. Wright was the coach at Homewood for several seasons. He took over for Bob Newton. His last season as head coach of the Patriots was in 2010.

2:29 PM: 6-foot-3, 325-pounder Daron Payne is expected
to lead the defensive line this year. He is considered to be one of the top
linemen in the 2015 class and holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi
State, Ole Miss and South Carolina.

2:28 PM: Smith's thoughts on his defense: "Our defensive front seven could be very good.
We're bigger and more athletic than we've been in the past couple years that
I've been there."

2:27 PM: Smith, a punter in his college days, is pleased with his special teams this season. "We have some quick kids who could
be dangerous."

2:25 PM: Liberty and Jacksonville State have offered
scholarships to athlete Mike Carter, according to head coach Bill Smith.

2:10 PM: Thomas said he backed off an idea to make his college commitment known on August 2nd. That's his birthday.

He said that it just didn't make sense and he's going to wait and take his time after his official visits during the season to make up his mind.

McAdory head coach David Powell talks with the media at the Birmingham high school football media days day one, Monday, July 29, 2013, at Gardendale Civic Center in Gardendale, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

2:06 PM: Powell went down memory lane at the evolution of Thomas from his middle school days.

He was a kid with a basketball mentality during those days that quickly showcased is potential with his energy level once he was first switched to the defensive line.

His first reps on the McAdory team were actually at safety when he was already 6 feet, 4 inches tall.

2:05 PM: Thomas said he's went back and watched the Spanish Fort film from last year's Class 5A state title game loss to Spanish Fort. He's seen it a couple of times. It hurts.

"We just didn't take advantage of our opportunities in that game," Thomas said.

1:54 PM: Powell feels the McAdory community is growing and there is an increased chance of the team becoming a 6A program due to increased enrollment numbers.

It's not certain, but the window of possibility appears to have grown.

1:53 PM: The defense returns three of their four starters in the secondary.

1:52 PM: Powell said there are only four returning starters on both sides of the ball. That said, the young men filling those roles on both sides of the ball should be seniors.

1:51 PM: Powell said his team had a good spring and the secondary and special teams should be solid. The defensive and offensive lines will be the key areas of concern heading into fall camp.

1:16 PM: Running backs Sidney Battle (senior) and Terrell West (junior) have both been offered by Jacksonville State. Linebacker Ladarius Harris also has an offer from the Gamecocks.

1:15 PM: Mortimer Jordan transfer DeAndres Merriweather and Stephen Sheffield and Chris Marshall are also in the mix at running back in a stacked backfield. Floyd said they are really about five quality guys deep at that position.

1:13 PM: Floyd said big-play back Terrell West has improved his route-running over the past year and looks like a different player catching the football heading into the season.

Moore said that West has also gotten a lot stronger from the player he was last season.

1:12 PM: Moore said last year's playoff loss to Hoover has motivated his along with the rest of the team to improve this year.

1:11 PM: Floyd described the potential in the Clay-Chalkville backfield with one word: "Awesome."

1:09 PM: Moore said the seniors gave Clark "stadiums and bear crawls" to earn his reinstatement to the team.

Moore said that head coach Jerry Hood told the team that he wouldn't have given him the same amount of punishment drills to return to the team if that decision was left up to him.

Moore said Hood told the boys that they were harder on him that he would have been.

1:07 PM: Floyd said that Clark "paid a price" to return to the team that was applied by his teammates. He's been doing punishment workouts and has done everything the team has asked him to do upon his return.

The 2012 ASWA All-State Class 6A wideout was doing reps last week with the scout team. He caught seven touchdowns last year, including four in the Class 6A state playoffs.

1:05 PM: Moore said All-State receiver Brian Clark would be back this fall. He was not a part of the team during spring drills because of not adhering to team rules.

Why is that a big deal? Clark, one of the most talented receivers in Birmingham the last few years, caught the only touchdown pass Hoover standout Marlon Humphrey gave up in man coverage last season.

1:03 PM: Floyd says don't look at that low number of returning starters on defense and think that the Cougars will be lacking this fall.

The new faces on defense do not lack for confidence, Floyd said. Last year's team was built for the run. This group is better in space and stalking the ball.

1:02 PM: There will be seven starters back on offense and just three Cougars that started on defense last fall.

1:01 PM: Moore said he feels that Clay-Chalkville is one of the top programs in the state at this time. Why? Hard work. He feels his Cougars work as hard as any team around.

OAK MOUNTAIN EAGLES (CLASS 6A)

Guests: Coach Cris Bell; Senior DB Chris Johnson; Senor OL Jacob Wade

12:59 PM: Bell said that there are no current Eagles on the team with a college scholarship offer at this time.

12:58 PM: There are currently 119 players in the Oak Mountain football program.

12:54 PM: Bell laughed about the trend of some coaches giving their players this week off prior to fall practices officially opening up next week. He said, with a little bit of a grin, that he just wasn't a good enough coach to be able to do that.

That's Bell just being humble. The coaching job he did earning a playoff bid with the 2012 Oak Mountain roster last fall was one of the finest coaching jobs in Birmingham last season.

12:49 PM: Bell feels his team is "miles ahead" of where they were last year at this time.

12:48 PM: Bell feels his offensive line is young, but that it will still be the strong part of his team this year.

12:47 PM: Oak Mountain has 17 seniors this fall. There is not a lot of experience in that group, though.

12:46 PM: Bell said that the Eagles lost four of their five offensive linemen off a run-heavy team last fall.

12:41 PM: Devin Pughsley compared the Spain Park/Hoover
rivalry with the Alabama/Auburn rivalry. He's encouraged by all the talk between the two programs about getting one another on the schedule beginning in 2014 after a two-year hiatus.

12:38 PM: "There's no doubt this is a playoff team," Thompson said. "Once we gel together and get our identity."

12:34 PM: The linebacker position is the biggest area of
concern defensively for the Jaguars.

12:33 PM: "You can't replace a player like quarterback
Nick Mullens," Thompson says. Spain Park has two players competing for the
starting spot right now.

12:32 PM: "We have a real good kicker coming back,"
Thompson says. "Thomas Taylor will be a big asset for us."

12:31 PM: Offensive coordinator Matt Thompson, who has
been on the Spain Park staff for the last three years described the new head Jag: "It's been a smooth transition"
with new head coach Shawn Raney.

12:27:
Sloan: "Two years ago, we went 1-9 and we experienced the downside of
football, but last year we got a feeling for when things go right."
Defensive end/tackle
Patrick Burrows says, "We just need to finish more."

12:25: Pleasant Grove has 15 seniors this year.

12:24: Cassity on the Spartans' 27-17 first-round playoff loss to Pinson Valley: "Pinson
had such an athletic team last year. To be able to compete with them was
a key. We had a chance to win that football game. The taste of competing
with a high-class team gives us an advantage going into this year."

12:22: Cassity believes Wenonah and McAdory should be the favorites in the
region this year. The Spartans face Wenonah in Week 2 and McAdory in
Week 4.

12:20:
Third-year starting quarterback Jake Sloan: "We have a lot of
experience and I think we should have a strong season. We've learned
that you can have all
the talent in the world, but if you don't have work ethic, it's not
going to get you anywhere."

12:19: The Spartans have seven returning starters on both offense and defense.

12:18: Pleasant Grove offensive coordinator Todd Cassity said the program hopes to build on last year's 7-4 team.

12:15 PM: Niblett said off-the-podium that he felt five-star cornerback Marlon Humphrey would be able to play this week if there was a game on Friday.

Humphrey missed the National Select 7-on-7 championships last week with an aggravated back. That forced him to miss the 400 meter hurdle final at the World Youth Games earlier this month in Ukraine. He also missed spring football practice with a similar injury.

12:15 PM: Niblett would like to play 20 players on both sides of the ball and have depth. That said, he defines the term "depth" differently than most might.

He views team depth as having a player that can come in and produce like a starter would at that position without any significant drop-off.

Hoover head coach Josh Niblett talks with the media at the Birmingham high school football media days day one, Monday, July 29, 2013, at Gardendale Civic Center in Gardendale, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

12:15 PM: "Getting better every day" and evolving as a coaching staff with new concepts and schemes is a big deal to Niblett.

He made a point about how complacency and doing the same successful things over and over wouldn't last long.

Winning football just isn't that simple. He pointed to the Nebraska dynasty in college football during the 90s as a good example of that philosophy.

12:13 PM: Key position battles for Hoover during fall camp: Cornerback, Running back and at Wide Receiver.

12:12 PM: Niblett doesn't think anything is wrong with Twitter and social media but noted what a player puts out there is seen by everybody. Its not just comments and jokes made among friends.

12:10 PM: When asked about whether the modern football player has it any easier than their peers of yesteryear, Niblett said it depends on whether "he has a phone or not" these days.

Good answer. He was clearly concerned with the amount of distractions that surround today's high school players. He remebers when cell phones were given to high school kids for emergencies only. Times have clearly changed in just the last 10-12 years.

12:08 PM: Coskery said new defensive coordinator Robert Evans runs "essentially the same defense" that the Bucs did last year. Coach Evans likes to yell a little bit more than new Spain Park head coach Shawn Raney did in the past.

12:04 PM: Hatcher is also a model example of the student-athlete concept on and off the field. He was the President of the Junior Class last year.

12:03 PM: Coskery wore a bow tie. He's extremely capable in the classroom ranking 64th in his class. He's a National Honor Society member and scored a 26 on his ACT.

12:00 PM: Hoover returns its middle linebacker for the first time in several years.

Coskery's return will be big. Coach Niblett stressed that impact of the position as the "quarterback of his defense" on the field.

11:55 AM: What type of outlook do Thompson's players have for this fall?

Consider this gem of a quote from senior safety Caleb Vann: "I don't have specific goals, I
have team goals. I expect this team to make the playoffs. I just want to make
plays and help my team win."

11:53 AM: Montgomery says the biggest area of concern is
his quarterback, first-year starter Zach Brammer. "He has to prove he can
manage a game," Montgomery says.

11:51 AM: Montgomery says he has more experience at
special teams this season than he's had in all seven years as the school's head
coach.

11:48 AM: Thompson will rely on its defensive experience
this year. "I don't think you can replace our defensive tackle that we lost,
John Thompson, but I think we're capable with the people that we have."

11:46 AM: In just his second year, Montgomery says he's
very close to the players on his team.

11:45 AM: Montgomery estimates he has 16 or 17 seniors
this year.

11:43 AM: Head coach Mike Montgomery notes he looks up to
Tom Causey at Demopolis with his proven track record.

11:34 AM: Hill is exploring new options with building team chemistry with this year's team like cookouts and even bonding together as a team by playing paintball.

11:33 AM: New Vincent coach Jason Hill feels good about the receiver position. There's a lack of the big bodies necessary to look imposing on the offensive line at this time.

That court hurt the run game this fall, but Groce is clearly a weapon at running back. He ran for nearly 10 yards per carry and more than 1,400 yards last fall despite less than 20 carries per game.

11:30 AM: Numbers appear to be a big concern. The coaching staff has reached out to the members of the baseball team in order to build more depth on this year's team.

11:29 AM: The Yellow Jackets will be senior heavy this fall. There are maybe 13-14 seniors among the 27 varsity players in the program.

11:28 AM: New coach Jason Hill comes over from Phil Campbell. He got hired earlier this month. He's had three weeks leading the program, but he's been in "driver's education school" for two of those weeks to update his teaching qualifications in order to fill the coaching and teaching slot at Vincent.

Second-year coach Andrew Zow speaks with reporters during Montevallo's media session at Jefferson and Shelby County high school media days on Monday. (Jeff Sentell/jsentell@al.com)

11:25 AM: He realizes that it is coach speak, but he said that the opener against Fultondale will be big as far as seeing how much better his program is in its second year.

Its the next game, but he made a case for its importance aside from those typical things coaches say.

He also pointed out the Leeds game later in the season as a benchmark.

11:24 AM: There are currently no Bulldogs in the program with a college offer.

11:22 AM: Zow said that he hopes to be balanced, but stressed the importance of the run game this year. He likes his backs and he feels he has the offensive line to move other teams around.

He's not as tall on the offensive line as he might like but they are "wide and stocky" with a couple of 300-pounders in the probable starting unit.

11:20 AM: Montevallo brought Inabinett along even though he's just a sophomore. Why? The young linebacker has show a lot of leadership ability on and off the field and in the classroom.

11:18 AM: Zow noticed last year that the big gap between his program and that of a region heavyweight like Leeds was numbers and then a consistency to get better as the game went along.

Leeds just showed their ability to win and pulled away from his team last year despite just a 10-0 lead at the half. He noted a "deer in the headlights" look with his team in that game last year.

11:17 AM: Zow said some teams get caught up in the plays. He said the program worked on the skill set for each play. He stressed teaching things like scoop blocks.

He looked at the film after a great rushing game and saw that his guys didn't really "block a soul" and that the running back did most of the work for those yards on their own.

11:16 AM: Zow is pleased with his program in his second year. He feels so much better about the team compared to this time last year. He says the football part and "getting sweaty" stuff is easy but all the financial stuff that pays the bills such as fundraisers and organizing travel and meals is a big headache.

11:14 AM: Zow couldn't help but be frank with depth issues at a 3A program in terms of a practice schedule or when facing Class 5A or 6A teams in 7-on-7 sessions where they simply swap out players and his Bulldogs stay on the field.

That's a big difference between a 3A team and those larger schools in his mind.

11:12 AM: Zow noted the lack of seniors on this team. He's got quite a lot more players in his junior class.

11:10 AM: One of our media friends made a quip to coach Andrew Zow about his team's colors.

Zow, the former Alabama quarterback great, just said that his team's orange and blue was "Montevallo orange and blue" and left it at that.

11:03 AM: Pelham coach Brett Burnett says Hoyette (6-3, 295) is attracting interest on both sides of the ball for his length and his ability to move. His feet are pretty good for a big man. He's an interior defensive lineman at Pelham.

11:00 AM: Look for Eli Beall's vast production at fullback to be replaced by more of a committee this fall rather than one single player.

10:57 AM: Pelham's players said they didn't mind the new region so much. There's no Hoover, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills but they didn't feel it was too much of a loss in their high school experience not getting to play those teams.

10:57 AM: Pelham coach Brett Burnett said that the new Montgomery and Shelby County region his program joined last year resulted in an approximate increase in the team's travel budget of about $5,000.

GARDENDALE ROCKETS
(CLASS 6A)

Note: Gardendale was scheduled to visit with the media on Tuesday,
but instead went between 10:35 AM and 10:50 AM on Monday. The timeline of the
school's visit with the media appears on both the Monday and Tuesday live
update pages.

10:46 AM: Plunkett said Finkley
is one of the fastest players in Alabama. He said he's clocked multiple 4.3s in
40-yard dashes at camps this summer. He has a 38-inch vertical leap and
garnered some invitations to the National Junior Olympics.

"Keeping him healthy and using him is going to be tremendous for us," he
said.

10:45 AM: Plunkett called 6A
football in Alabama the best in the country.

"Every time I walked off the field in Texas my heart was in Alabama," he
said. "Every Friday night I embrace the opportunity to come back here to coach
these guys. There's not a better job for Matt Plunkett in the state of Alabama
than Gardendale High School."

10:44 AM: Plunkett said that a
coach has failed their player if that young man held an SEC offer and wound up
in a junior college.

"That's unacceptable to me if that happens," Plunkett said.

10:42 AM: Plunkett said defensive
back Dylan Finkley (5-9, 178) has an offer from Alabama State. He feels there
are multiple players on the team who can play on Saturday at different levels.

He has a team rule to respect academics and is implanting a character
education programs on Wednesday.

"We don't want anyone to have a grade with our grade checks of anything less
than a 75," he said.

The standards in Texas to make sure players are eligible were tougher
than they are in Alabama, he said. But he'll carry those same standards his
former team had in Texas along with him among the Rockets.

10:42 AM: Plunkett said
character and discipline plus the talent at Gardendale can lead to some special
things.

10:41 AM: Plunkett is already
looking at the schedule and the back-to-back challenges on consecutive Friday
nights against Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills.

He's got experience in his high school coaching days in Texas coaching
big-time opponents in that scenario. The teams he worked as an assistant for in
Texas faced Andrew Luck's high school squad and another team loaded with
prospects in successive weeks.

10:40 AM: Plunkett said Hannah
is a guy he looks to in order to stay grounded. He considers him a mentor. Hannah
and Plunkett's father are best friends. They are almost like brothers.

"We're definitely excited to have him as a fan of Gardendale football,"
Plunkett said.

The first-year coach said to look for Hannah around the program and maybe
even on the sideline on Friday nights as a visitor.

"If you let him get too close he might break somebody's neck," Plunkett
said.

10:39 AM: Former NFL all-time
great John Hannah is a close friend of the Plunkett family. He lives on the
Plunkett family farm.

He's has spoken to the kids a few times and Plunkett says he will be around
the team.

"Awesome guy but you will see him around Gardendale quite a bit,"
Plunkett said.

10:38 AM: The Rockets said they
know Plunkett knows his Xs and Os.

"He's an awesome guy," Crook said. "We get some guys over at his house to
watch some movies sometimes. He's a guy we all love who's like a father figure
and we all look up to him.

Crook called Plunkett an old-school guy.

"He loves Alabama so he tries to be like Bear Bryant and Nick Saban and
stuff. Just an old-school guy but he's awesome."

10:37 AM: Plunkett believes in
tackling and blocking and running and catching.

"If you ever back away from those things then you are not going to be a very
good football coach," he said.

He'll stay within AHSAA rules and the National Federation guidelines, but
there's a big but.

"But we're not going to back away from being physical and playing hard,"
he said.

10:37 AM: The outside
linebackers in Gardendale's 4-2-5 will have to stop the pass and play the line
of scrimmage.

10:36 AM: Plunkett said the team
will be multiple in its schemes on offense. He said the team would do whatever it takes to
win.

"If that means we will have to run the ball one week, then we are going
to run it," he said. "If we've got to air it out one week we are going to air
it out."

Plunkett hopes for a 50-50 mix on offense. He will stress fundamentals
and techniques on offense. They will be a 4-2-5 front on defense.

Why does he like it? He worked for an old school "Split-4" guy in his
first coaching job at Pittsburg State (KS) University.

"It is something that I believe in," he said. He realizes Gardendale has athletes that can
run well and cover space. That's a good fit for personnel but it also allows
the team to mix in some man coverage and zone looks.

"I believe the 4-2-5 defense is something this state definitely believes
in," he said. "It gives our athletes opportunities to make plays and be around
the football."

10:35 AM: Overall depth is the
biggest concern for Plunkett at this point.Some key players will just have to go both ways.

He hopes for the team to survive that with good luck on the injury front.

10:35 AM: What are the buzz
words for Plunkett in his first year? Those are character and discipline.

"Our kids have worked hard and we stay focused on the things that have
gotten us to this point," Plunkett said. "That discipline is what gives us a
chance to be successful."

"A season can go up and down but we are just going to treat it like a
marathon and not a race and keep our eye on the prize at the end," Plunkett
said.

HUEYTOWN GOLDEN GOPHERS (CLASS 6A)

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Birmingham high school football media days
Hueytown QB Robert Johnson talks with the media at the Birmingham high school football media days day one, Monday, July 29, 2013, at Gardendale Civic Center in Gardendale, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

10:20 AM: McKeller has a number in mind for how many times Clark will throw the ball per game this season. That's 17 passing attempts per game. McKeller's answer appears to have some solid math and film study behind that logic.

10:19 AM: Coach Wiley McKeller thinks that playing quarterback
will be a little bit of a break for Clark as he won't be at receiver this
season and that will save him several sprints down the field each quarter.

He thinks
it will free Clark up to play more defense this fall.

10:18 AM: Calera is moving to a 3-3 front on defense this fall and away from a 3-4 front.

10:17 AM: As reported last week on AL.com, elite prospect Ronnie Clark said his decision will be
between Alabama and Auburn and it will be sometime next month. He's not
sure yet if he will take any official visits once he makes his decision
other than his college choice.

10:16 AM: Coach Wiley McKeller really likes his offensive line. Another key camp battle is at the defensive end spot.

10:15 AM: The Hornets are looking for another receiver at the
off spot opposite of rising senior Jordan Bishop. That's a big position
battle.

10:14 AM: Elite recruit Ronnie Clark again repeated his springtime pledge that a state championship was a big goal for his senior season.

10:14 AM: After just one
win last season, Brent says, "I think this could be a playoff team. We had one
win last year, but I think this team is very capable of sneaking into the third
or fourth spot."

10:12 AM: Smith says
before he got to Shelby County, the kids didn't even kick extra points, which
is something he's changed.

10:08 AM: Smith said
moving to the spread/pistol last year took some getting used to. As for the
defense, Smith says the Wildcats will be smaller than last season, but faster.
The team is also changing from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4, which the players have
adapted to well.

10:07 AM: Smith is in
his second season at Shelby County. Linebacker Matt Youngblood says the biggest
difference in having a year under his belt with the new coach is, "This year we
know what to expect and know how everything's going to go. I think in the
middle of the season (last year) stuff started to click. We're not having to go
through the fundamentals now."

10:05 AM: The biggest
area of concern for head coach Brent Smith is the Wildcats are still relatively
young, with just 13 seniors of 71 total players.

9:48 AM: The modern world of the football player still
includes a part-time job and other sports. Chelsea has about 15 members of the
team that holds part-time jobs and a full third of the team plays another
sport. The Hornets have 60 guys on their varsity roster.

9:45 AM: Chelsea will
have 28 seniors this year. Elmore thinks the running back-by-committee approach this
year can be just as effective as it was with Troy signee Julius McCall was last season.

That's a lot of ground to cover. McCall ran for nearly 1,900 yards in just 10 games in 2012.

Senior
Aki Coles (6-0, 205) is the between the tackles back. Jones and Washington are
the speed guys. Coles ran a 4.6 in the 40-yard dash.

9:44 AM: Elmore looks to the run game as the strength of the
team heading into fall camp.

9:43 AM: He looked at
the Prattville film from last year and sees 2012 as a hiccup. He expects
the Lions to be right back next season.

Chelsea head coach Chris Elmore chats with media members at the Birmingham high school football media days day one, Monday, July 29, 2013, at Gardendale Civic Center in Gardendale, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

9:42 AM: Elmore really doesn't know the answer as to the
team to beat in the region. He's been coaching the last several years in a different region.

The only team he's
had a lot of experience with is Pelham.
He noted the quality of coaches in the region as a big strength.

9:40 AM: Senior DB/RB Austin Washington points to 4-5 guys on the team as
Hornets to look out for. Marshall was one of those.

He's also
expecting big things out of himself. Rising
junior DE/OLB Darrell Foster (6-2, 195) is great at rushing the passer and
getting into the backfield and making things happen.

Sophomore-to-be RB A.J. Jones
(5-10, 180) is another player to watch for this season.

9:38 AM: OT/DT Troy
Marshall (6-3, 285) holds South Alabama, UAB and Western Kentucky offers right now. He's
expected to play on both sides of the ball, but his future appears to be as a guard at the next level.

9:37 AM: Expect a similar system and some of the same formations as last year. Look for more zone blocking in the run game, though.

The Hornets will shift
from a 4-3 to the 3-4 front this year. It just puts better players on the field.

Why? They feel that Chelsea is a little deeper at linebacker than it is on the defensive line.

9:37 AM: Elmore thinks the game isn't as physical as it used
to be. It's a lot faster, though.

Nobody ran the no-huddle years ago as they do
now. He noted more distractions this year on players these days with recruiting
websites and other aspects of social media.

9:36 AM: Elmore wants the team to practice at a
high rate of speed.

9:36 AM: One goal for next year: Work on the
nutrition program.

9:35 AM: The new coaching staff saw no need for a complete
overhaul. Elmore said the previous staff was already doing a lot of good
things there.

Elmore tried to build off the things Wade
Waldrop had working in the program. There are tweaks. He wants the team
to work faster and smarter.

9:34 AM: The players
describe the Elmore era as very energetic. Very uplifting and he's always
working to help the team improve.

9:32 AM: Homewood was seen as the team to beat in the
region. The Lions all remarked about what a great game and rivalry it is each
year playing the Patriots.

9:31 AM: What's a camp battle to look toward for good
competition? Try the secondary. The Lions lost all four of their starters from
that spot last year.

9:30 AM: Jerald was again mentioned as the player most
likely to turn heads this fall. He was just starting to establish himself last
season midway through the year when he broke his ankle and was lost for the
year.

9:30 AM: Senior DE Daniel Scott (6-3, 215) has also worked
hard in the weight room. The players said they can really see him in there
giving it every ounce he's got.

Briarwood QB Will Edwards (right) speaks with the media at the Birmingham high school football media days day one, Monday, July 29, 2013, at Gardendale Civic Center in Gardendale, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

9:29 AM: John Collier was named as a player that has really
been working hard this summer. The boys said Collier (6-1, 210) can now bench press
300 pounds. It was said that he's really
"got some fire in him" to block for the team.

9:28 AM: Edwards said the Daniel Robert's ability out wide
will be missed. He labeled him a "6-foot-4 physical freak" that always
attracted coverage. He said the team
doesn't have a guy like that back for this fall, but it does have a lot of good
skilled football players with smarts and ability.

9:26 AM: Harmon said that approach hasn't affected the team
at all from a defensive standpoint. There's been no loss of aggressiveness with
that strategy over the years.

"I feel like we're still one of the better tackling teams
around and our kids are consistently getting 11 men to the football," Harmon
said.

He said it helps the team maintain fresh legs for the
playoff stretch.

9:25 AM: Speed is a big factor for the Briarwood offense
this fall. Halfback Victor Jerald, who was timed at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard
dash at Samford, is expected to be a big playmaker.

That's' important because the team's leading rusher last
year didn't crack the 300-yard mark.

9:25 AM: When it
comes to the AHSAA's new ideas about limiting contact in practices, it appears
the Lions were well ahead of the curve on that one.

Harmon said Yancey has been doing that for "about 10 years"
and he said there's only about one practice per season where the Lions actual
tackle and go to the ground. That's the team scrimmage prior to the jamboree
game each fall.

9:22 AM: It is believed that defensive coordinator Matthew
Forrester holds the single-season record for tackles in a season. It is a
record that most expect Simmons to challenge this fall.

Forrester, it should be noted, say the way Simmons found the
football as a sophomore and proclaimed he would be the best middle linebacker
in Briarwood history by the time he graduated.

The young man appears well on his way to proving him right.

9:21 AM: "He loves hitting people" and "he just goes out and
gives it everything he's got" were the popular comments regarding his level of
play. The angles he takes on plays were also a big reason for his production
last fall.

9:16 AM: The team enjoys talking about the tackling exploits
of rising senior LB Ethan Simmons. He cracked the 200-tackle mark last year.

It is clear that Simmons has the respect of his teammates at the podium today.

MINOR TENACIOUS TIGERS (CLASS 6A)

Guests: Coach Randy Cook, Senior WR Ladrevion Richardson

9:09 AM: When asked by an interviewer about how much time he felt he still had left coaching high school football, Cook said he felt like maybe he had another five years.

"Five years and then who knows," Cook said. "Find a creek bank or a beach. Maybe I'll grow my hair out longer."

9:08 AM: There are five seniors back on offense for this season. The offensive line averages about 280-285 pounds.

He said some of his young coaches like to throw the ball a lot and he did as well back when he was their age.

Now? He really likes to see that clock run fast.

9:07 AM: Minor expects to start three sophomores on the offensive line with a junior and a senior. The senior has never played on the line before. Neither has the junior. The three sophomores just got a sprinkling of playing time last year.

The defensive line will have two seniors. The linebackers are all seniors, but the secondary will be sophomores and juniors with playing experience.

Cook doesn't think he will be able to bang people between the tackles early on in the season, but he has some players that will be along to get on the edge and cause problems.

9:06 AM: Cook felt his team didn't handle adversity well last fall.

This year's senior bunch is also not a rah-rah group. It is more of a lead-by-example class.

9:05 AM: Richardson worked on his speed and dropped it from a 4.7 to 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

9:05 AM: Its clear that Cook believes in the turnover ratio. He called it the "glowing stat" for his team this fall.

A fumble in the Gardendale game at the 3 resulted in a 97-yard fumble return for a touchdown in a 14-point swing for the Tigers. Minor turned it over seven times in the Bessemer City game and lost 17-10 in 2012.

"You just can't do that in a 6A ballgame and expect to win," Cook said.

9:04 AM: The Tigers believe in the Spread on offense and a 4-3 on defense. There will not be a big change in the schemes Minor has used in recent years.

"All I can teach is one-gap anyway," Cook said. "If we do get into a 3-4, then there will be some kind of a fire zone behind it where it will still be a one-gap scheme."

9:03 AM: Richardson said that the coaching staff has stressed to them to get stronger and to work harder than their opponents this fall.

He wants to be more of a leader during his senior season.

9:02 AM: Cook mentioned a freshman-to-be that he placed in rare company.

He didn't want to label Jalen Adams as "another Christion Jones" but he did say that the rising 9th-grader has those same athletic qualities.

9:02 AM: The depth at running back is good. Cook mentioned Mike Chisolm as a returning factor at receiver. He started last fall.

9:01 AM: Cook said he wasn't sure if this was a faster team compared to his squads of recent years, but felt they were "pretty good" in the skill positions.

9:01 AM: Coach Cook said that his Tigers were in all of their games last year, but wound up a minus-12 in turnover ratio.